Sir Keir Starmer in Albania to tackle 'revolving door' of migration
- Sir Keir Starmer visited the Albanian port of Durres on Thursday, 16 May 2025, to announce expanded measures against migrant smuggling.
- His government plans to speed up returns by using 'return hubs' in cooperating Balkan countries to process failed asylum seekers from Britain.
- The UK will expand a joint migration taskforce in the Western Balkans, invest in anti-forgery technology, and target criminal networks facilitating illegal migration.
- Between July 2024 and March 2025, authorities sent back 24,000 migrants, marking the highest total for any nine-month span since 2017, while this year has seen 12,700 individuals arrive via small boats—a 33% increase compared to the previous year.
- These efforts aim to reduce illegal migration, though Starmer admitted the removals hub is ‘‘not a silver bullet’’ and must be part of broader actions.
26 Articles
26 Articles


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This is a mock-up and not an actual line-up, believe it or not (Picture: Getty/Metro) When Prime Minister Keir Starmer met his long-serving Albanian counterpart Edi Rama today, there was plenty of substance to discuss. Tackling illegal migration was on the agenda, as was the big European Political Community summit taking place in the capital Tirana tomorrow. But for many of us seeing pictures of the joint press conference earlier today, a much s…
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